Covenantal Choices
PARASHAT NITZAVIM (“stand”) contains the bulk of Moses’ third and final speech in the book of Deuteronomy, his last exhortation in Moab to observe the covenant. In this address, which began at the end of the previous parashah (29:1–8), Moses foreshadows the full sequence of iniquity, judgment, repentance, and deliverance that he predicts Israel will experience. He concludes his words with an impassioned plea to his audience to “choose life” (30:19) by adhering to the torah (Teaching), a choice that will guarantee peace and prosperity.
Each of the three units of parashat Nitzavim brings out its two governing themes—presence versus absence, and exposure versus concealment. The first part of the parashah (29:9–28) emphasizes the inclusion of every single member of the community in the covenant and their participation in the covenant ceremony. Women and men, officials and laborers, those standing before Moses in Moab and future generations—all commit themselves to uphold the terms of the covenant. This commitment leads to a warning against secret disobedient behavior, followed by a depiction of the fierce judgment God will unleash upon the land and the people if they turn away from God.
The second part of the parashah (30:1–10) opens with a promise of restoration once the people repent. Repeatedly, here and in the subsequent unit, Moses calls upon the people to love God with all their hearts and souls (vv. 6, 16, 20). This formulaic language is familiar from elsewhere in Deuteronomy (particularly 6:5), reminding the people that they must fulfill their part of the covenant through their fierce loyalty to God and God’s teachings.
The third part of the parashah (30:11–20) returns to the subject of the covenant and the contrast between the overt and the covert. Moses assures the people that the “Instruction” (mitzvah) is not hidden or beyond reach, but is close and obtainable (30:11–14). He stresses that God gives each individual and the entire people two clear choices: “life and prosperity, death and adversity” (30:15). With heaven and earth as witnesses to the covenant, Moses implores the people to choose life instead of death, blessing instead of curse (v. 19).
One of the hallmarks of this parashah is the inclusion of women in the list of social groups participating in the covenant ceremony. The explicit mention of women in 29:10 leaves no doubt that women are part of the people obliged to follow God’s covenant. Nevertheless, their position in the list designates their lower status in ancient Israelite society (see at 29:9–10). The parashah refers to women again in 29:17 as part of a list of possible sinners. Thus, the text affirms that women and men alike, not only those preparing to enter the Promised Land but also the generations to follow, have the potential either to break or to maintain the covenant: it is “in your mouth and in your heart, to observe it” (30:14).
—Dalit Rom-Shiloni
Outline—
I. THE COVENANT CEREMONY (29:9–28)
A. Participation in the ceremony and commitment to the covenant (vv. 9–14)
B. Concealed offense and overt judgment (vv. 15–20)
C. Lesson learned from the destruction (vv. 21–27)
D. Concealed and overt acts (v. 28)
II. REPENTANCE AND RESTORATION FROM EXILE (30:1–10)
III. THE CHOICE
Life or Death, Blessing or Curse (30:11–20)
A. Encouragement that this instruction is not beyond reach (vv. 11–14)
B. Charge: choose life and prosperity versus death and adversity (vv. 15–20)